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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies drug video allegations | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The Mayor of the Canadian city of Toronto, Rob Ford, has denied allegations that he has been caught on video smoking crack cocaine. | |
The Toronto Star said that two of its reporters were shown the video clip - reportedly filmed on a smartphone - by someone trying to sell it to the paper. | |
The newspaper says that it cannot verify the video's authenticity. | |
Mr Ford called the allegations "ridiculous" when he emerged from his house on Friday. | |
Later, outside his office, Mr Ford refused to take questions but in brief comments said it was "another story with respect to the Toronto Star going after me". | |
He added: "That's all I've got to say for now." | |
Mr Ford's lawyer, Dennis Morris, earlier told the Toronto Sun: "We're just trying to see whether or not such a video exists and whether or not any video has been doctored or altered." | |
The Toronto Star said two of its reporters were shown the video on 3 May, after meeting an anonymous tipster in a car park. | |
'Well-lit room' | 'Well-lit room' |
The newspaper said the footage appeared to show Mr Ford "sitting in a chair, wearing a white shirt, top buttons open, inhaling from what appears to be a glass crack pipe". | |
The Toronto Star said that although it had no way to verify the authenticity of the video, the clip "appears to clearly show Ford in a well-lit room". | The Toronto Star said that although it had no way to verify the authenticity of the video, the clip "appears to clearly show Ford in a well-lit room". |
The paper added that it "did not pay money and did not obtain a copy of the video". | The paper added that it "did not pay money and did not obtain a copy of the video". |
In an editorial, the Toronto Star said the city needed answers "right away" about the incident. | |
"It's not enough for the mayor to try and slough this off with a one-word denial and point a finger, yet again, at the Star for reporting on it," it said. | |
Toronto Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday told reporters it was "shocking to see it on the front page of a paper" and that he did not believe the article and still had confidence in the mayor. | |
The editor of US online news site Gawker, John Cook, said in a blog post that he had also seen the clip but did not want to pay the six-figure amount demanded by the video's owner. | The editor of US online news site Gawker, John Cook, said in a blog post that he had also seen the clip but did not want to pay the six-figure amount demanded by the video's owner. |
Mr Ford's lawyer reportedly sent an email to Gawker, threatening legal action. | Mr Ford's lawyer reportedly sent an email to Gawker, threatening legal action. |
"Mayor Ford denies such... took place, and if such posting occurs, it is false and defamatory, and you will be held legally accountable," the email read, according to Gawker. | |
Meanwhile, Canadian paper The Province has launched an online fundraising campaign to buy the video. | Meanwhile, Canadian paper The Province has launched an online fundraising campaign to buy the video. |